However, whether Apple's iPad ultimately succeeds or fails, it is yet another sign of an emerging device class. With Google, Microsoft, and others investing in researching tablet-style computers, this is a trend that will not begin or end with the iPad.

The Tablet Redefined: A Media Pad

The concept of tablet computing is hardly a new idea. Although prototypes of tablet or pen-input based computers go back to the late 1970s, the first big industry push for pen computing came in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The GO operating system and later PenWindows were lauded as the next big innovation. Pen computing never took off. Undaunted, manufacturers decided to try again, and almost ten years ago, Microsoft introduced its Microsoft Tablet PC platform. Again, the concept never gained traction.

What's different about this new wave of tablet devices is that the intended use cases for the device have evolved into something completely different. These new tablets are not being presented as a replacement for the existing computer but for an ancillary type of platform. The new tablets are also not being primarily targeted at business users, but at home users instead. The usage cases are more tightly defined as well. The new tablet devices are about accessing and consuming web content.

Plus, unlike tablets of decades past, these new devices come on the heels of similar devices with similar usage cases: Smartphones.

A New Device Class

When you think about what this new wave of tablet computers offers — easy access to the Internet, a way to watch video, portability without being a smartphone — you might think, "hey, that's a netbook." And you would be right. However, the netbook, despite its early aspirations, has never been able to define itself as a separate class of device.

The problem with netbooks is that the form factor is too similar to that of a traditional laptop. In fact, as time has gone on, the line between a netbook and a CULV notebook has blurred to the point that the two categories have almost become one. Plus, because the physical appearance of a netbook is so similar to that of a traditional laptop computer, the expectations of the overall experience are often higher than the devices can adequately offer.

Steve Jobs commented during the iPad launch that people buy netbooks because they want cheap laptops. This is by and large completely true. What this wave of tablet computers is doing is repackaging the intended purpose of a netbook into a form factor that doesn't confuse its abilities.

But Do We Really Need Another Gadget?

The fact that tablets and smartphones seem so similar on its face have many people questioning the need for this new device category. It's true, in the beginning, tablets will become a secondary product. I don't think that any tablet maker is going to advertise their solution as a complete replacement for a main computer. Instead, this is for people who want to have something larger than a smartphone, yet more portable than a regular laptop, to use to access content.

Touch-input is key here. Yes, the ability to use add-on accessories is important, but touch is one of those features that instantly makes a product easy to use and also limits the need to carry add-ons like a stylus or other input device.

Consumers might not need a tablet device or media pad any more than they need to have multiple TiVos or Blu-ray players, but many will want them and buy them anyway.

Don't Count Out Students

Beyond just entertainment, tablet computers have one huge, huge area of potential: Education, specifically college textbooks. Already textbook publishers are lining up to support the iPad. I have long believed that whatever eBook platform could conquer textbooks would end up winning the battle of this generation of technology. Why? Because this is an area ripe for innovation.

College students spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks every semester — textbooks that are heavy, that are sometimes out of date as soon as they are published, and that don't fit well with the existing digital lifestyle of today's students. Even without subsidizing the initial device price, I know that students would flock to using a tablet computer if they could get all of their textbooks, have the ability to make notations, get online updates and see supplementary information all in a device that weighs under a pound and can fit easily in a backpack.

The convenience factor alone makes it a killer device. Mark my words, whoever is able to get textbook publishers and universities on-board en masse first will ultimately win the eBook market.

The great thing about tablet computers is that they aren't just eBook readers. They can offer additional content experiences as well.

What Do You Think?

Tablet computers are coming. By the end of the year, a variety of tablet devices will be on the market. Do you want one? How do you see it fitting in with your existing lifestyle. Let us know!

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